@nelzbub @oldhat-my best friend just got an English bulldog puppy. Face washing is pretty much an every day thing; and the puppy does have allergies (and tends to stick her face into everything she's allergic to, too!). I used to have a boxer, and they tend to have similar face issues as other mush-faced breeds; and she at lest LOVED having her face washed. Unfortunately mom accidentally trained her to wipe her face off on your pants so...eh.. wasn't as much fun if you were trying to dress up.

Hmm... hows about we ask more questions, like this thread was intended?

Does anyone here own a scaly pet? I have a very angry lizard named Harvey:

He's a blue tongued skink that I inherited from a friend who couldn't pay attention to him. Harvey has... problems. Likely, he just wasn't handled very well or often when he was a wee babe. Some of his toes were already missing when I got him and he refused to be touched or even come out of his cave.

I've done a lot to attempt to rehabilitate him - he lived in my office where my ex and I spent 90% of our lives, so he got used to humans doing human things and making human sounds and he's now social enough that he hangs out with me, watching TV, climbing around and generally being the curious sort that blueys are known to be. He comes when I call him, sleeps outside his cave at times, and seems generally OK enough with me but hates most strangers/even my roommate.

I can't for the life of me, touch him for more than a few seconds before he freaks out.

I can pick him up out of his terrarium (a friend bought him a nice front-opening one so he no longer stresses when I stick my hand in) and move him quickly into another box for cleanings. But he won't stand for being petted or being held. He bites fingers if I get too close for too long. I tried doing a daily handling regiment to get him used to it but it stresses him so badly that he once gave himself a bloody snout trying to get away, so I just stopped. Tried also teaching him to hand feed, but he lunges and most of the time just gets my fingers instead of whatever I'm offering (I feel this is on purpose, he's kind of a bastard.)

I want him to be a pet I can hang out with on my bed with my roommate, or carry around on my shoulder. Suggestions to tame the little bugger? He's an asshole, but I love him like the abusive boyfriend he is.

@glu, sounds like a silly question, but does he have a particular toy or stuffed friend he likes hanging out with? My friend had an Iguana whose last owner didn't take good care of it so it also had a lot of issues and hated being picked up. Everyone found that when the Iguana had a little "buddy" that was always around in his tank he began to calm down a bit generally to the idea of someone else being around and became okay with being picked up. It was a gradual process and to be sure that wasn't the only thing that helped, but...well, it helped.

@oldhat huh. I've never heard of giving a lizard a toy. Also, cleanliness of stuffed animals with lizards, who are prone to just shitting all over everything. Though he is oddly territorial of his things, so maybe he'd like something that was more his? He gets upset if I remove anything from his home, such as cleaning out his water bowl (see above, when I stepped away to get him fresh water after cleaning it out).I'll look around for something that can be hand washed and won't become a biohazard.Even with his quirks, Harvey is still 1000x better than when my friend first got him and is my favourite little monster.

The When: Last night, around 1.30am. The Who: Treacle, a very timid, kitten-sized and (seemingly) contented house-cat ever since she first spat, hissed and clawed her way into my vestigial lump of a heart 16 years ago.The Where: Right outside my living room window in the flat's communal back garden, which are permanently locked to keep the local scrotes out and I DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO. The Why: Apparently just to "patrol" the area directly below the window several times, stopping occasionally to munch on some lawn, even though she has access to grass indoors.The Result: Fifteen wasted, increasingly anxious minutes of me shout-whispering at her to come back inside, trying to tempt her by waving an opened sachet of catfood over her head and really hoping one of the local urban foxes didn't decide tonight's a good time to drop in for a visit. (In case you're wondering why I didn't clamber out after her, the main, big panel of the window opens 4-5 inches, max, which, until last night, I assumed narrow enough for her not to be able to squeeze through. Hyeah.)The Aftermath: She eventually deigns to return, slumps down on her blanket for a couple of minutes to clean herself up after The Big Adventure and then proceeds squawk at the top of her lungs to be fed...which is why I was looking for her in the first place.

Epilogue: Woke up this morning to find a gift from Treacle, which I'm interpreting as her way of apologising for last night's shenanigans: a small, partly chewed, undigested glob of regurgitated grass. Oh, and once I'd cleaned that up and went to give them both their brekkie, she was AWOL again. Naturally, the first place I checked was the back yard and, surprise surprise, there was a petite black cat mooching around out there. Just begun to call and try to beckon her back again when a familiar, near-ultrasonic, plaintive "I'm-hungry-so-feed-me-NOW!" mewling erupted right behind me. Rightfully, the cat outside shot me a contemptuous, dirty look and carried-on with its mooching.

Flecky -- Yes, yes it does count. Don't worry.It's kind of like when I would go to the store every couple of weeks and buy a pet mouse. I would put it in the cage with my other pet to see if they would get along... The mouse always seemed to piss off the snake though and they only way to shut the little guy up was to eat him.

@flecky I have a ton of moths hanging out in my room who I consider pets. Til the cat eats them or they fry themselves against the lizard's light. But in the meantime, they try their darndest to get me to play with them instead of being on the computer.

Bit has caught what seems to be (currently) a small infestation of fleas... caught from me, most likely; he is 100% indoors, and I have been going to my parents' farm once a week lately, where there are many animals running around outside.

So we attempted to give him a bath, w/ the intent of putting some flea medication (off-the-shelf, but not Hartz; I've heard some scary stuff about their products) on him after and getting the apartment super-clean.He hasn't had a bath since he was a tiny thing, about 5 years ago. We're calling this a failed attempt. The fella and I got his back washed and rinsed, but that was it. And I walked away w/ this:...Plus a few other scratches on my stomach and arm.

So! Anyone have any tips for taking care of fleas and/or getting a cat more comfortable w/ baths?

Overturn a laundry hamper over kitty. Throw damp towel over laundry hamper to block up holes. Blow several lungfuls of good weed smoke into hamper. Lift edge of hamper and check homicidal rage level of cat. Repeat if needed.

I don't have any pets myself - my apartment complex doesn't allow dogs, I'm allergic to cats and have no real interest in any other creatures - but my parents got one of their dogs when I still lived at home, so I reckon they kinda count.

Klink (on the left) is a Dachshund/Jack Russel cross. He's quite elderly now, but you wouldn't know it from his energy levels - people often mistake him for a puppy.Rudy (on the right) is a pedigree miniature Dachshund that grew too big to show (he's in between a miniature and standard in size). His name is technically something like "Etoir Mr Earl", but that's a ridiculous name for dog, so "Rudy" it is.

Here's another one of Rudy. He has a very long tail and can wiggle just the end of it :)

The pics were taken in the middle of winter - hence the faintly ludicrous coats.

Cat baths:1) wear a jacket. Preferably leather.2) Rubber gloves may also be needed3) If your cat isn't used to wearing a harness, I suggest this. It gives you an added area to grip.

Have one person hold the cat, and the other shampoo, then rinse the cat, being sure to avoid getting suds in the kitty's eyes/nose. Towel-dry kitty before you let kitty escape, and offer lots of treats post bath.

For our girls, I generally do it in the sink, but the neighbors have had luck using the shower with their cats; just make sure the water isn't too hot.

If all else fails, there are wipes you can use on the cat instead of getting the kitty soaked with water; not sure if there are anti-flea ones, but there probably are.

I've always washed them in the bath. I fill it with about 2 inches of water and then you can use a cup to scoop up water and pour it onto the cat. Don't use the actual shower setting as it freaks the shit out of cats and might make them literally shit themselves. I learned this the hard way when I was about 8 years old.